Businesses that want to become more sustainable and minimise their footprint need to rethink their shipping and logistics sectors.  It is important for businesses to employ sustainable packaging and shipping processes to help minimise waste and promote a healthier environment.

Not sure where to start? Increasing your company’s sustainability doesn’t have to be expensive. In many cases, reducing packaging waste can help your business reduce its costs. Here are three ways your business can build sustainability into its shipping department.

• Remove the wasted space

An easy way to make your shipping department more efficient and eco-friendly is by eliminating wasted space from your packaging. Studies show the average package contains about 40% unnecessary space.

There are many ways that wasted space can be eliminated.  Use more suitable packaging material.  Or use a machine that produces bubble on demand to fill the necessary space only.  Or use a machine that detects and wraps to the size of the product.

• Bulk shipping

Sometimes sending individual packages is a necessity. But, whenever possible, ship items in bulk. Shipping a large number of boxes at once will reduce the amount of wasted freight space, therefore minimising your fuel usage.  Maybe the use of a pallet wrapper will help in this area.

• Re-think your supply chain

Assess the sustainability of your supply chain and design a more efficient strategy for your freight that improves its fuel mileage and better optimises its movements. For instance, if you operate a small business that doesn’t have enough shipments to fill an entire truck or plane, consider co-shipping. In doing so, you can share the freight space with another company, resulting in reduced costs and less fuel. Once you have an accurate depiction of your supply chain’s performance, set specific benchmarks and communicate those goals with all involved. Achieve and maintain your sustainability goals by monitoring your process and performing audits.

One way to start would be to have a FREE Shield™ Packaging Survey.